Milo Imagines The World

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This lesson activity will help readers to question their first assumptions of Milo after reading Milo Imagines the World. Step One

A great message for kids, and a good one for adults to be reminded of from time to time as well.” — The A.V. Club Robinson recalls that after revealing his wish to create such a picture book, de la Peña “had a spark in his eye” and “disappeared for 30 minutes,” returning with a rough draft of what became Milo Imagines the World. A memorable, thought-provoking story poised to make a difference for many.”— Kirkus, starred review In this book, we follow a young boy named Milo as he and his older sister take their monthly Sunday subway ride to visit their mother. We all distract ourselves from life's anxieties by telling ourselves stories about the people we interact with, whether we know them well or are virtual strangers. We project our own motivations and values on them so their actions make sense to us, assigning them roles as heroes or villains, enablers or obstacles. Of course, the narratives we assign are swayed by our personal biases. Maybe the grumpy-looking man isn't alone in the world; he might have a family who loves him dearly, and he's just having a sour day. Perhaps the break dancers don't face discrimination because of their skin color and clothes. Maybe the boy who seems wealthy and without a care in the world is actually in the same situation you are, a shook-up soda nervous about what the coming hours will bring. This is Milo's epiphany moment in the book: "And a thought occurs to him: Maybe you can't really know anyone just by looking at their face." We tell ourselves stories about the people around us, there's no changing that. But instead of forcing the stories to confirm larger narratives we already believe, it's healthy to let some threads run counter to expectation; that's how we remain open to changing our minds. Grappling with story is challenging when it detours from our comfort zone, but it's the only way we learn from our mistakes and improve going forward.Begin the lesson by showing learners the cover of the book. Ask learners to share what the illustrator wants us to know about Milo. Record responses on chart paper. Author Matt de la Peña does an incredible job unfolding Milo’s story. Readers first see Milo waiting for a subway train. The words describing the approaching train help readers see, feel, and hear the train as it comes to a stop. Text clues help the reader learn more about Milo as he travels. We get a full understanding of Milo by the end of the story where we read how he feels while hugging his family. Milo Imagines the World Lesson Activity This is hard stuff but it is also necessary for kids to see and its a story that is told in such a gentle, loving way. Hard stuff like this doesn't have to be terrifying. Milo's lesson as he sees the little boy, who he assumed based on how he looked was nothing like him at all, run up to hug his own orange jumpsuit wearing mom is that it doesn't matter what you're wearing or what expression you have on your face or how well your hair is combed. You can never know all of someone else's story just based on what they look like.

Tell readers that while you read, their job is to notice new information about Milo. Learners can infer how he feels and discover his living situation. Record new information on the chart paper. Step Two Discussing their professional relationship, de la Peña noted that he feels as if the two “have fallen into this space where we get to do socially conscious books, but we try to make sure that our stories are also fun and center a childlike sensibility.” We are none of us one story. We aren't the clothes we wear or the colors we dye our hair or the music we listen to or the color of our skin or the language we speak. Those things are part of us but they aren't who we are. We have to remember that when we meet each other in the world and we have to get better at seeing with more than just our eyes. In When Milo gets anxious, he imagines stories about the people around him. He studies their faces and conjures up images of what their lives must be like. Milo captures his imagination by drawing his visions in his sketchpad.As we follow Milo on his commute, he observes the people around him and draws their lives as he imagines them to be. In Milo’s drawings, a young boy in a suit becomes a prince and a woman in a wedding dress marries a man who whisks her away in a hot air balloon. While there was some debate early on about the setting: with Robinson initially preferring that Milo Imagines the World be set in the San Francisco Bay Area where he used to live, de la Peña was adamant that it should be set in New York. The iconic New York City subway system is “so distinct and unique,” Robinson said. “And everyone has to sit close together. Matt was right.” I think my favorite part has to be Christian Robinson’s illustrations! I especially love Milo’s drawings, the way they provide depth to Milo as a character by giving us a look into his internal monologue and his understanding of the world around him. When Milo and his sister get to the prison, Milo is so happy to see his mum. Yet, he is very surprised to see the boy and his dad from the train also visiting someone. Maybe you can’t really tell anything about anyone just by looking at them? Milo reimagines all the stories he has created for the people he drew on the train, and realises all the different situations and lives those people might live.

Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson are my favorite storytelling team. Absolutely stellar on their own, when they choose to create a story together it is beyond magic. They simply GET people and, most importantly, that kids are people, too. Balancing hard emotions with the whimsy of childhood opens up a soft space for adults and children to share moments about what it means to SEE other people for who they are, the perceptions we carry and implicit bias that tags along, while weaving in a rich story of love and compassion familiar to so many families in the US.In Milo Imagines the World, a budding young artist named Milo lives with his grandmother in New York City. Once a week, he and his older sister take the subway to visit their incarcerated parent. During the long ride, Milo studies the other subway riders and draws pictures of their lives as he imagines them. One day, he sees a well-dressed boy riding the subway, and draws him in a castle with a drawbridge. To Milo’s surprise, the boy gets off at the same stop and waits in the same long line at the prison to visit his own parent. Milo questions what people might think of him. Can they see that he is a poet and his aunt takes good care of him? Do they know that his mother loves him very much and is incarcerated? Both de la Peña and Robinson recalled in separate interviews that Milo Imagines the World was conceived almost two years ago in a Barnes & Noble café in Fairfax, Va. during their Carmela Full of Wishes tour. The two were having coffee and talking before the event began. Milo Imagines the World is a beautiful story that opens up a conversation about bias and empathy. Illustrator Christian Robinson based Milo’s story on his own life. When Robinson felt overwhelmed as a child, drawing gave him a sense of control. His imagination opened up a world of possibilities while living in a small space without his mom.

A text that flows like poetry . . . Glorious.”— The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review T (electrician): (4 stars). I guess I liked it. Surprise ending--I was wondering where it was going. Milo’s story is my story,” Robinson said. “Like Milo, I grew up with an incarcerated parent. As a child, I felt a lot of shame and embarrassment. It was difficult not all that long ago to talk about it. I recognize that my story is not that unique. I feel compelled to let kids who feel the shame I felt then know that they’re not alone: their experience matters.”Milo gazes at his chocolate-brown reflection in the train window and wonders: what assumptions do strangers make about him? Do they see the complexity of his family situation and relationships, or do their narratives reduce him to nothing more than a kid of color living in the big city? As Milo and his sister exit the underground, he notes that at least one of the stories he created about his fellow passengers was dead wrong, and he ponders that as they pass through the metal detector for their scheduled visit. What direction will Milo's life take in the days and years ahead? Stories are complicated things, and Milo is beginning to absorb that truth on a deep level. This beautiful book from the dynamo team behind Last Stop on Market Street have batted another one clean out of the park. AASL Standards Framework for Learners: Explore/Think V.A.2: Learners develop and satisfy personal curiosity by r eflecting and questioning assumptions and possible misconceptions.